Punishment against Gogoi will set an example if found ‘guilty: Indian Army Chief

Srinagar, May 25: Days after the Army major Leetul Gogoi was caught with a girl in a local hotel in Srinagar, Army Chief, Bipin Rawat on Friday said that stringent punishment will be taken against Gogoi if he has committed any offence.

According to the KNS correspondent, talking to reporters at Pahalgam while on a visit to the Army Goodwill School, Rawat said that “If any officer of Army is found guilty of any offence, we take strictest possible action against him.”

He said that the stringent action will be taken against Gogoi if he has committed any offence. “I assure you that stringent punishment will be taken against him and that punishment will set an example.”
Earlier on May 23, Gogoi was briefly detained by police in Srinagar after an altercation when he was allegedly trying to enter a hotel with an 18-year-old woman.

Asked about ‘border skirmishes’, Rawat said, “We want peace at borders but Pakistan continuously violates ceasefire that causes loss of life and property to civilians and in such a case we have to retaliate.”

“If Pak wants peace, we expect them to take initiative, which will start with them stopping infiltration and halt in training the militants in the camps,” Rawat said.

Asked whether the ceasefire will be extended, Army Chief said that “We wanted to show atmosphere of peace to the people therefore NICO (Non-Initiation of Combat Operations) was put in place for this month. I believe people are happy if things continue in a similar way we can say that continuing of NICO can be thought of.”

However, Rawat said that the initiative will be called off in case the militant activities continue. (KNS)